207 Hedda is a sizeable

Main belt The asteroid belt is a torus-shaped region in the Solar System, centered on the Sun and roughly spanning the space between the orbits of the planets Jupiter and Mars. It contains a great many solid, irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids ...

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

. It is a

C-type asteroid C-type (carbonaceous ) asteroids are the most common variety, forming around 75% of known asteroids. They are volatile-rich and distinguished by a very low albedo because their composition includes a large amount of carbon, in addition to rocks ...

, meaning it is primitive in composition and dark in colour. This asteroid was discovered by

Johann Palisa Johann Palisa (6 December 1848 – 2 May 1925) was an Austrian astronomer, born in Troppau, Austrian Silesia, now Czech Republic. He was a prolific discoverer of asteroids, discovering 122 in all, from 136 Austria in 1874 to 1073 G ...

on October 17, 1879, in Pola and was named after Hedwig Winnecke (née Dell), wife of astronomer Friedrich A. T. Winnecke.Schmadel, L. (2003:31). ''Dictionary of minor planet names''. Germany: Springer. Attempts to determine the rotation period for this asteroid have led to conflicting results. A study published in 2010 using photometric observations from Organ Mesa Observatory showed a

rotation period In astronomy, the rotation period or spin period of a celestial object (e.g., star, planet, moon, asteroid) has two definitions. The first one corresponds to the '' sidereal rotation period'' (or ''sidereal day''), i.e., the time that the objec ...

of 19.489 ± 0.002 hours and a brightness variation of 0.18 ± 0.02 in

magnitude Magnitude may refer to: Mathematics *Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction *Magnitude (mathematics), the relative size of an object *Norm (mathematics), a term for the size or length of a vector *Order of ...

References

External links

The Asteroid Orbital Elements Database

* * Background asteroids

Hedda Hedda is a feminine given name, sometimes a diminutive form (hypocorism) of Hedvig, Hedwig or variants thereof. Bearers of the name include: People Women * Hedda Østberg Amundsen (born 1998), Norwegian cross-country skier * Hedvig Hedda Ander ...

C-type asteroids (Tholen) Ch-type asteroids (SMASS) 18791017 {{C-beltasteroid-stub